No More Mooching
by Zylstra
Summary: Sam is kidnapped, but because she is on vacation, nobody notices. However, when Jack gets a call telling him that Sam will be killed unless demands are met, he does everything in his power to save her. Will it be enough? Complete :D SamJack pairing
1. Vacation

Disclaimer: See Profile Page, where I have posted a whole lot of obligatory legal mumbo jumbo.

Chapter 1

"I have now been officially ordered off the base!"

Samantha Carter picked up her bag and slung it reluctantly over her shoulder. Dressed in a casual jeans and a t-shirt, she turned to her friends, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c, who were standing in the doorway of her lab.

"General Hammond insisted," she complained, "that because I haven't taken a proper vacation in five years, I either take one week now or they start _not_ paying me for seven weeks vacation. Naturally, I'd refuse, but I have to eat." She sighed and tucked a huge astrophysics text book under her arm. Jack looked at it.

"Carter, isn't the point of a vacation not to do any work?" he asked.

Sam rolled her eyes. "So, what. . . I'm just supposed to mooch around for a week?"

"Yes!" he replied, almost seriously.

"Think of it as relaxing, not mooching," contributed Daniel, folding his arms conclusively.

It was Teal'c's turn to add fuel to the fire. "You do indeed deserve a vacation, Major Carter."

Sam grimaced. "Thanks, Teal'c. Well, I guess I'll see you guys next week." She flashed them a quick smile, then, after shifting the astrophysics text book to a more comfortable position under her arm, began her journey to the surface.

"So, Teal'c," Jack said to Teal'c as soon as she was out of earshot, "what _are_ we going to do this week? What's on the mission list?"

"Nothing, I believe. Doctor Fraiser has scheduled a standard medical examination. Also, it is my understanding that General Hammond wants the completed documents of mission recounts handed to him by next Monday."

"Then why did Carter get to go on vacation?"

"Major Carter is indeed the only one who makes the effort to attend meet all deadlines."

Jack frowned and left, mumbling something about "missing the memo".

* * *

There was a struggle. The person tried to get free, but the men that held them had muscles like steel. There was no chance of escape. These men were armed with Automatic Pistols, and they knew how to use them. Armed, they were twice as deadly as they were with their bare hands. All with unique styles and strengths, but all were fighting under the same orders: to eliminate those who stood in the way of power, but keeping their names clean. This was usually done by use of hostages. Even the strongest man in the world had people who cared about him, and a person whom he cared about. 

One of the men hit their captive over the head with a strong, single gesture. At once, they lay still. Their muffled screams for help could no longer be heard, even if someone was close enough to hear them. As the men tied up the body and threw it into the back of their truck, the leader smiled. Their plan was now in action.

* * *

Jack walked into his office, still stiff and in a slightly bad mood from his medical examination. He glanced at his watch. 2112 hours. He wondered if he should pack it in for the night and hit the sack in the SGC's guest quarters. His gaze shifted to the pile of reports to be done, wondering how they might have built up so much. He began to count them, hoping to stall for time before he actually had to do them. 

"1, 2, 3. . ."

In the back of his mind, Jack knew that something had changed since he had last been in his office. The papers were about a foot away from where he could've sworn they were before, and the lid of his lap top had been down before he had come, and now it was up.

". . .6, 7, and there's that form thing that Doc Fraiser wanted me to fill out, that memo from Hammond and the stupid letter saying I've won a trip to Antarctica, all expenses paid – I must remember to throw that out at some point."

The telephone rang. Jack unconsciously pushed all the reports he counted off the phone and onto the floor so he could answer. He growled, annoyed, as the papers flew everywhere.

"O'Neill!" he said a little more forcefully than he had intended.

"I have someone here that I think you know." The voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar.

"Who are you?"

"Not important."

"Maybe I put it too nicely. **Who the _hell_ are you?"**

The person laughed. "Amusing. Now, if you want to see your little friend again, I suggest you fill our requests."

"Wha..? My friend – who?"

"Let me give you a hint. Look in the top draw of your desk." Jack cautiously opened his draw. Inside was a book. A huge astrophysics textbook.

His heart dropped into his stomach.

"No, Carter's on vacation."

Person X laughed again. "Well, she certainly won't be just _mooching_ around anymore, will she?"

Jack didn't say anything, for fear of effectively screwing it up. He didn't know if what this man had said was true.

"What, you still don't believe me?" Person X seemed to be reading his thoughts. "Just look at the book and you'll know I'm telling the truth."

_Sound sure of yourself, _he told himself before he dared to speak. "There are hundreds of copies of this book."

"But only one can be found in the Stargate facility in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs." X paused. "Now, what would you pay for Carter's release? I'm sure I can think of something. I will call you back at this exact time tomorrow with my requests and they _will_ be filled in 72 hours."

Jack opened his mouth to say something. "And don't think of taking this to your superiors, Colonel O'Neill," said X. "You say a word to anyone, and Carter will die before you can blink. And don't forget . . . I'm watching you."

The line went dead.

* * *

That's the end of chapter one. Another coming in a couple of days. And I need a name. Any random name that I could use in this fanfic for the name of the head of the USAF. 


	2. General Archer

2112 Hours the Next Day

A dark-eyed Jack O'Neill answered the telephone. He hadn't slept at all the night before, and, although he could've dropped where he sat at his desk, he couldn't sleep. Carter was a hostage, and it was up to him to help her.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Oooh, right down to business I see," Person X said in a sickly, sing-song voice. "I have a proposal. We have a little task that needs to be completed. You complete it, Carter goes free. However, you fail to complete the task, Cartergoes. . ." He made a noise in his throat like someone choking."Do I make myself clear?"

Jack rested his face in his hands. "How do I know you'll honor your end of the bargain?"

"Hmm. How about I give you my word. How's that, huh?"

"Even if you weren't holding a member of my team hostage, it still wouldn't mean a lot to me."

Jack felt misery swimming inside of him. He was getting himself into a corner that he wasn't sure he'd be able to get out of. But he had no choice. His 'colleague's' (he would admit to no more) life was on the line.

"Before we deal," said Jack, his hands shaking, "I need to know that Carter is still alive. Let me speak to her."

Silence. X had obviously not been expecting this request. "Yeah, she's right here."

"Sam?"

"Sir?"

"Sam, where are you?"

"I don't know. Sir, don't . . ."

Jack had hoped that he would have been able to speak to her for a little longer, but it had been stupid to hope that much. These men were ruthless, and were not in the least sympathetic to anyone whose aim was short of theirs.

"That's it! Say, 'Goodbye'!" X continued on a more serious note. "Now you have your confirmation, it's time to get your orders. They are to be carried out quickly and accurately. If you stuff it up, it'll be on Carter's head, so you had better listen carefully . . ."

* * *

"Come in, Colonel!" called General Hammond from his place at the desk. Jack walked in, taking the seat the Hammond had gestured at. "Geez, Jack, you look terrible!" He did. The dark circles under his eyes had got even darker, he seemed very pale and General Hammond got the impression he had to make a concerted effort to simply stand up. 

"No, I'm fine General, I just need some time off," Jack said, slouching in his chair.

"Sure," Hammond responded immediately. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you, sir. Three days should do it."

"Do you need a lift home?" asked Hammond, concerned.

"No, sir, I'll be fine."

"Hold on, Jack." Hammond pulled Jack up. "Didn't Doctor Fraiser give you a clean bill of health yesterday?" he asked, beginning to get a little suspicious.

"I think it's just a cold, sir. It'll pass in a couple of days."

Hammond just nodded. He knew something was bothering his friend, but also knew that if Jack didn't want to tell him, he wouldn't budge. So he let it go, hoping all would become clear, in time. He knew that was what always happened in these kinds of situations, but the question he didn't touch on was this: how much time?

Jack got into his car and started the engine. He drove all the way home looking as if he had had a really rough night. He let himself in, and went straight to the bathroom. He splashed his face with water, rubbing his eyes in order to remove the dark eye make-up.

_Geez,_ he thought to himself, _why did these guys insist I had to look so bad? I feel like a Goth._

After finally removing the heavy black powder from around his eyes, he straightened his posture, a determined gleam returning to his brown eyes. He was no longer playing in the little kids' ball park. It was do or die, but the consequences of his actions did not affect him as much as they did Carter.

Carter. Together they had prevented Goa'uld attack on Earth, and yet, she was being held hostage by someone on their own planet. He felt so guilty! He had been the one who had pestered General Hammond to make her take some leave, and now look where she was.

Carter. What the hell would Stargate Command do without her? Whenever there was a problem with the Stargate, she was there to fix it, and fix it twice as fast as anybody else on base. And in her spare time, she was working on some device that could potentially act as a weapon against the Goa'uld. Jack found a wall clear of all posters and shelves and whacked his head against it. His head hurt terribly afterwards, but he reasoned that it might serve to ease the unending guilt swimming within his heart.

With difficulty, he got himself together. It was not going to help her by drowning in a sea of misery, but more likely sentence her to death. He went into his back verandah. Jack ran his fingers through his hair. It was there, just like X had said it would be. The Sniper Rifle. The Sniper Rifle with which he was going to assassinate General Hamish Archer,the head of the United States Air Force.

* * *

Thankyou to Nelarun of Australia for coming up with the name Archer. I'm terrible with names(!) Another chapter? _Ja? Nein? Vielleicht?_


	3. Reunited

General Hammond intended to go and see how Dr. Jackson was going with the translations of some Goa'uld writing found on P3T- 879, with no other reason than to stretch his legs. He rounded the bend and stepped into the elevator. As the doors started to close, somebody yelled "Hold that!". General Hammond pressed put his hand in front of the doors to stop them from closing. The person dashed up the hall and jumped inside. Hammond sighed.

"Major, I thought I told you to have the week off." Sam looked at Hammond as if only then realizing that he was the person in the elevator with her.

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry." She looked guiltily at her feet. "I'm just so bored. I . . . need to be doing something constructive.

"You like to be busy, don't you, Major?"

"Yes, sir. I just have to pick up something to do and I'll go home again. I know it sounds weird, but I _need_ to do something."

"Right." Hammond nodded and continued.

Sam watched him go. She went to her lab and began collecting papers and books to read and revise.

Jack sat at home, fidgeting. _I'm going to go crazy,_ he told himself. He relented, picking up the keys to his truck. He was going back to the SGC, even though he was supposed to be 'sick'. He had two more days to perform the task, and it just happened to be that the head of the United States Air Force was speaking the day after the next day at some parade or something. He had decided that that would be the best place to perform the assassination.

He had to get back to the SGC. For some reason, he felt he should be there, as if his future depended on it. He didn't believe in that destiny shit; he liked to believe he was in control of his life. But he felt like he should be there.

"Jack, what the hell are _you_ doing here?" Busted. General Hammond had caught him on the way back from Daniel's office.

"I'm feeling better, sir. I just needed a rest."

Hammond shook his head and smiled. "Between you and Major Carter, you just can't seem to stay away!"

Jack frowned. "Carter came back?"

"Yeah, to pick up some work. You might be able to catch her in her lab if you hurry."

With that, Jack dashed off, bowling over poor ol' Sergeant Siler, who had been carrying something that looked quite delicate. He mumbled a quick apology to him and ran to get in the lift before the doors closed.

"Carter!" Jack burst into Sam's lab, scaring her. He walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.

* * *

Pray 'scuse the short chapter.


	4. This is how a heart breaks

Surprised, she nervously returned the embrace. "Sir, are you alright?"

"I'm so glad you're safe."

"Uh... So am I."

Jack took a deep breath. She obviously had no idea that anything regarding her remotely had ever taken place. Still smiling, Jack left for his office.

Sam watched Jack leave. She took a seat and uncharacteristically fiddled with some piece of expensive equipment. She heaved a large sigh and set the object back down. She looked at her watch, and then typed something on the keyboard of her laptop and studied the information. Then, suddenly, she got up and started pacing her lab in search of something. She gathered some papers from various corners of her lab and stuffed them into a bag. Sam looked at her watch again, and sat back down.

"Right," she said to herself. "Almost time to go. Now…" she drew her tags from beneath her shirt and studied them. "Where do I live?"

Jack walked into his office and sat down on his seat, relaxed. Everything would be all right. At least for the moment at any rate. The telephone rang. He answered.

"I hear we have a little bit of a situation here," said X, annoyed.

"Yes, we do," Jack replied cheerfully. "Actually, no. _You_ have a situation, but I don't."

"There are two Carter's, eh? One walking around your base and one as my hostage."

"Yeah, and about your proposal...y'know the one that involves me assassinating General Archer? Well, it can go to hell, you liar! Is that what you do? Pretend to kidnap someone while they're on vacation and then blackmail their family? Bastard!"

X remained unconcerned and sighed. "Well, if that's your decision, I suppose there is nothing I can do to persuade you otherwise. You'll realize sooner or later that the Carter on your base is an impostor, but, my guess is that by then it will be too late. You've made your decision, but if you happen to change your mind, you have until tomorrow to complete the task." He let out a burst of laughter and hung up. Jack felt sweat beading on his brow. He was nervous. Who should he believe? Himself; his eyes, which had seen his friend and his heart that had felt the warmth that it always did when he saw her? Or a stranger who claimed to be holding the same friend hostage? X didn't seem like the kind of person to lie, but still, he couldn't deny what he had seen...

"Sir?" a voice from his door. Sam stood there, a concerned glint in her eye. "Sir, are you feeling OK?"

For the first time in days, Jack genuinely smiled. It was then he realized that the real Samantha Carter was standing in front of him. "Yes, Major, fine."

She smiled back and nodded. Jack felt his insides melt with happiness. Sam turned and left. He had nothing to worry about. The confusion was over.

Or so he thought. Rather, it was the beginning.

The next day, after the deadline had passed

SG-1 had gathered in Daniel's office in order to discuss the upcoming mission. It seemed that Sam had pestered General Hammond so much that he had let her come back to work half a week early. Also, it seemed that the good General had given up on the prospect of having those mission reports handed to him any time in the next millennia.

"It seems on this planet, there is traces of naquadah in the soil," said Sam, right on topic.

"Yeah, there also seems to be a city or village nearby who mines it. We're going to try to see their ways to mine..."

Daniel's voice slowly faded out of Jack's listening range. His eyes stared blankly around the room, looking at everything but not particularly seeing anything. The Stargate alarm blared. Daniel continued talking as if nothing was even making an annoying _'bbbbbrrrrrrrr' _noise. It was just SG-9 returning from a standard reconnaissance mission - nothing to worry about. At least, not for any normal person. But as Jack's eyes came to rest on Sam, he knew something was wrong. She was beginning to shake, bordering on being uncontrollable.

Teal'c and Daniel noticed what was happening. "Major Carter, are you all right?"

She ignored them. Her breath came in great gasps and she clamped her hands over her ears. "Shut it off!" she yelled. "Shutitdown! Turnitoff! Nonono! It's too loud!"

"Carter!" Jack grabbed hold of one of her wrists and Teal'c took the other. "Infirmary!"

"Nononono!" cried Sam. She shook her friends off of her. She dropped to the floor, suddenly silent.

"Get a medical team in here!" ordered Jack to the airmen standing. He watched the airmen run off down the hall of the SGC.

"Oh my God! Jack!" Daniel's panicked voice turned his attention to Sam. Well, what had been Sam 20 seconds earlier.

* * *

I do apologise for such short chapters, but if I write long ones they take forever.


	5. Born Again

Chapter 5

"Who is that?" demanded Jack as he stood in Hammond's office, clearing things up. "_What_ was that thing in Carter's lab?"

"Calm down, Jack," said Hammond. "Our scientists are studying the body. They believe it to be a clone." Jack's mouth dropped open.

"A clone, sir?" he asked.

"Yes. The DNA was almost identical, but for a small anomaly. It, uh… seems that whoever did this hasn't perfected the hearing capabilities of the clone. It's far too sensitive, and that's why 'Carter' couldn't stand the sound of the base alarm."

"Will the clone wake up, sir?" Jack wanted to know.

"No, Colonel. Apparently, the brain was slightly deformed. It seems whoever did this hasn't perfected the process."

"Do we have any suspects on who actually did do this?"

"No, there is no evidence to point to anyone. We've called in the Tok'ra to help us, but otherwise…" The General trailed off. Jack nodded.

"Should we contact Major Carter?" Jack said. "The real one?"

"At this point, I'm inclined not too," said Hammond. "It's the last thing she needs on her vacation. Dismissed.'

Jack left, annoyed. He had hoped to backwardly alert Hammond that Carter was missing. It didn't work. He went to the commissary, hoping that pie would ease his mind like it usually did.

"George!" said Jacob Carter as he walked down the ramp to the 'gate. "How've you been?"

"Not bad," replied Hammond. "We could just use a little help."

"With what?"

"We have a bit of a situation."

"Yeah, OK. I'll see what I can do. Where's Sam?" Jacob didn't particularly sound interested in the situation part.

"I ordered her off base for a vacation."

The retired general smiled. "Good for her. I'll see if I can wangle some time so I can go see her?"

"Sure," replied Hammond.

"So, you mind filling me in?"

Jack returned to his office from the commissary and sat down, stomach full and head empty. If the pie had done one thing, it had served to make him focus on the stabbing pain in the gut that he had acquired from eating too much. He stared at his computer, considering playing a couple of games, possibly ones that didn't involve shooting anything or killing anyone. As wimpish as it sounded, Jack felt as if he didn't have the stomach to face either.

Suddenly, an email popped up on his screen.

* * *

Sender: Unknown

To: Colonel Jack O'Neill (joneill at sgc.gov)

Date: 2021 hours

Subject: Believe me now?

Are you now convinced that I was telling the truth? The deadline is passed, but I am willing to give you another chance.

* * *

O'Neill began to slowly type back. "Why?" he said to himself as he typed the words. "It's too late; you've said it yourself. You killed her, you bastard!" He viciously hit the enter key, sending the message into cyberspace. It took a mere moment more for X to reply, as if he had been anticipating Jack's response.

* * *

To: Colonel Jack O'Neill (joneill at sgc.gov)

Date: 2032 hours

Subject: New information

We have the technology to bring her back… It is possible, but the task will have to be completed first. As last time, you will wonder if we really do have this sort of technology and if we'll keep to our word and, yet again, my response will be the same. You'll have to trust us. I trust you have all ready made your decision. This time, we'll throw you a bone. You may have one person the help you. A person of your choice, of course. But choose wisely. It had better be someone who's not afraid to get their hands dirty…

* * *

X had been right. He had made a decision, but he was guessing it wasn't the one that the mysterious person had been thinking of. He was going to kill this son of a bitch. He was going to kill him if it was the last thing he ever did. And he was going to enlist the help of someone who wasn't afraid to bypass a couple of laws and, as much as he hated the man, Jack had to reluctantly admit that he could be a help in these particular circumstances.

* * *

Jack sat in the park, waiting and thinking. He missed Carter so bad. He missed her so badly that he was calling upon a person whom she hated to come and rescue her.

"Hi, Jack!"

Jack looked up. "Hello, Maybourne."


	6. Confusion

Sam's Point of View

Unknown Location

I open my eyes and look around at my surroundings. I groan and roll over onto my side. My head feels as if somebody is hitting it with a large hammer. Trying to get my nerve together, I wipe cold sweat off my face and lean myself against a wall. I swallow hard and chance a glance down at myself. The last thing I remember is…dying. Odd last memory, I know, but all I can recall is somebody with a Goa'uld ribbon device putting it to my head and then black.

I don't know where I am or how I got here. I don't know how long I have been sitting in this cell. It is cold and wet and the floor is made up out of hard cement. I haven't eaten or drunk anything for ages: they said when I had finished giving them information I would get something but I don't intend on telling them anything. So I guess that if the torture doesn't get me, starvation will.

I don't understand. They said that I was being ransomed, but they haven't mentioned what I'm being ransomed for. I wonder why they're torturing me for information if I'm being ransomed anyway. I suppose that it is more for them to gain: they can get money or whatever it is they want and information at the same time. I spoke with the Colonel for a few minutes, and he sounded really worried: I hope he's OK. I'm starting to wish I hadn't complied with General Hammond's order and gone on vacation. If I hadn't, I'd still be on base going over the upcoming mission to PJ3-977.

I rub my hand over some moss on the ground. Despite the fact that it smells really bad, it does make a good substitute for a pillow. It reminds me of the time that we were on that planet- P3 something-or-other – and there were those plants… Yeah, I was really embarrassed when I had to admit that I talked to plants. I think Teal'c thought it was funny. Colonel O'Neill certainly thought that.

I feel the tears running involuntarily from my eyes. I don't want to cry, but I'm scared. I'm scared of what these people will do to me. I'm scared of what they'll do the Teal'c and Daniel and the Colonel when they come to rescue me. _If_ they come to rescue me. I think they're rouge NID agents, and if that's right, I'm in big trouble. These people are very focused on their objectives and will do anything simply to complete the tasks.

It is pitch black in here. When I had the strength to get up and walk around, I tried to find a switch, but couldn't. I don't know what good it would do, but it would help to orientate me even in the slightest bit. The only light I get is when they come to interrogate, and even then there's only the light of the ribbon device and that of the hallway.

One or more of them must be a Goa'uld. I'm too tired to think on that too much more. All I can think of is that they have someway to stop me from sensing its presence. What if they injected me with something? A sedative to make sure I don't escape? Maybe a poison that's killing me slowly? I don't know! I just…! I'm confused. I don't like being confused.

I can hear them coming. I slide myself across the floor and into a corner. I don't know what good it will do, but I think I need something solid behind me. I hear clicking sounds as they unlock the door. There are many: by the sounds of things at least two padlocks and a thumb scanner. The sounds echo in my head. I don't know if I can handle much more, but they will kill me, revive me and think nothing of it. I wipe the tears from my eyes before they come in. If they see I've broken, I'm stuffed even more than I am now. I hold my head as high as I can while I'm sitting. Three men walk in, two guarding the open door and the other standing in front of me. I squint as the light reaches my vision. I turn my head away to shield my eyes.

The man in front is wearing some kind of a mask. I cannot see his face, just his black, cold eyes. I am trying to stop myself from crying again, and it takes all my strength. The sobs are coming halfway up my throat before I can force them back. My body shakes each time this happens, and X smiles because he knows what I am doing.

"Good afternoon, Major Carter," he says to me without the normal distorted Goa'uld voice. I cannot hold the tears back any longer. One rolls down my cheek. I lift my hand and look at the liquid on my fingertips.

"Oh dear," says X, and by his tone I know he doesn't care. Why should he? I am his prisoner, not the other way around. "It seems as if you have a bit of a problem. I know what he means. It is blood. I am crying blood. I have burst a capillary in my eye. I hold my sleeve to my eye to stem the flow.

"Do you feel like telling us anything this time?" he asks me in an annoying sing-song voice, like he is talking to a five-year-old child. I say nothing. It is safer that way; I won't accidentally let anything slip. I see him fiddling with the ribbon device on his hand to torment me. I am on the border of not caring about anything anymore. Sleep is very close and it seems like my best option. I force my breathing to slow down and I soon feel myself slipping into that beautiful, hypnotizing abyss that is sleep.

I am aware that X is shaking me, trying to get me to wake up. He slaps my face, but the sleep-inducing drugs that have been injected into me are taking control. I hear him yelling to his accomplices that they were not supposed to put me to sleep until after I had been interrogated. This makes me smile. X sees me smiling. He comes over to me and kneels down to my level.

He grabs the collar of my pale blue t-shirt. His nose is inches from mine.

"Yeah," he says. "You smile, because it'll be the last time." He lets go of me, and I feel myself falling down a long, dark tunnel. I reach up, trying to grab onto something. I continue to fall. I realize that there is nothing I can do about it. I accept it.I feel better now. I know everything is going to be OK. I see the light at the end. I want to touch it, but I cannot. I remember my friends and the good times we had together. I remember the situations we had gotten out of together. I know that I am not ready to goto that placeyet. I stop falling, and simply sleep.


	7. Too Easy

Chapter 6

"I still can't believe that out of all the people in the world I choose to help me find Carter I chose you," complained Jack, wondering if he would regret asking Maybourne for help.

"Oh, come on Jack!" replied Maybourne. "Major Carter's life must be worth working with me!"

"You're definitely right. I guess when you put it that way I can't really argue, can I?"

They lapsed into silence.

"So, who is this X person?" Maybourne wanted to know.

"I don't know," said Jack. "That's why I refer to him as X."

"Right…Good point. Reminds me of Year Nine Math when you say it like that: Algebra 2."

Another awkward silence.

"So what are we going to do?" said Jack suddenly. "Are we going to shoot this guy or are we going to save Carter."

"Well, Jack, you know both paths are dangerous, so choose carefully," said Maybourne. "If we try to take Carter, we would have to plan very carefully; no mistakes."

Jack was well aware of what 'no mistakes' meant. "I never thought I'd say this," he said, "but what do you think we should do?"

"That's easy: I'd try and get her out of there!" replied Maybourne immediately. "But it is your decision. I _am_ just along for the ride, remember?"

"Hey, do we even know where 'there' is?" Jack asked.

"No, we don't," said the ex-NID agent. "But their MO is like that of the Rouge NID, so if I get into the system, I can find out."

"What do you need?"

They pulled up outside an internet café. Maybourne jumped out and got down to business. Jack waited in his truck, and, a mere half an hour later, his 'partner' came back out, information printed on a sheet of paper.

"Are you done all ready?"

"Yeah. We need to go to this address." He read off the piece of paper that Maybourne had shoved at him.

They had been traveling for about four minutes when Jack suddenly said, "Did it seem a bit easy to find where she was?"

Maybourne frowned. "Yeah, that did occur to me."

Jack felt his emotions rising in his throat. They thought of this as a game, that's all. It was one huge game that was just too freaking real for those who didn't know the fine print, the rules and how to break them. He fought the emotions down, determined not to let Maybourne see him as jumpy as a jackass. Minutes later, he realized it hadn't worked too well.

"How are you holding up, Jack?" he asked, for once genuinely concerned. Jack didn't say anything, just kept on driving. "You _do_ realize that half the NID know about the…_thing_ you guys have between you." Jack was still silent. "Oh, come on! You didn't think they'd use it against you sooner or later? This is exactly why they have regulations in the Air Force."

"And you're an expert of upholding the rules, now, are you?" Jack snapped at him quickly, hands shaking on the wheel with fury. If he hadn't been driving, he would have kicked Maybourne's ass until blood came out of his nose.

"No, Jack, I'm not. I'm just saying that if your feelings are going to get in the way of your duties at Stargate Command, I think you should step back." He paused. "So something like this doesn't happen again. People get hurt in this game, Jack; I don't need to tell you that. Some day, somebody's gonna get killed, and it's going to hit you hard."

"Are you telling me…? Wha? I just-" Jack sighed, knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel. "Shut up, Maybourne." He was babbling, and he knew it. He got a quick glance at his partner's smug snicker. "My feelings don't get in the way of anything." Jack winced inside. Now, he was denying it: Sam was a hostage, thanks to him! And now here he was here denying her. Did she deserve this? No, she beeping well did not! Jack swerved to avoid hitting a truck, bringing him back to his senses.

"Of course." Unconvinced, Maybourne left the topic of conversation where it was. Safer, he considered, since Jack was in a bad mood and had a gun. He counted how many times Jack had threatened to shoot him and barely stifled a laugh. Two or three times, if his memory served. But, he was still alive and kicking, so it mustn't have been too sincere. However, he wasn't above doubting that Jack _would_ shoot him in the future, so he promptly cut off his train of thought.

"This is the address," said Jack as he looked out from behind a dying bush. Maybourne had suggested that they park a distance away as to not be detected. "It should be this building right th…holy st!" Even his partner's mouth dropped open. The place was massive, at least the size of your average skyscraper. Looking around at the abandoned place, he noted that it was extremely dusty and dirty. He supposed that at the time that it was being built, the place would have looked very promising. Alas, no longer. The two continued to stare at the building.

"Did you give any thought to how we're going to get in and out?" Jack wanted to know, watching the guys with guns standing outside with sharp eyes.

"None."

"You're kidding, right?"

"You've got a gun, so all we have to do is go in and shoot everybody who comes in the way of us and Major Carter."

"Mm, yeah, that'll work(!)"

"I'm sure there's a back entrance we could use without –too much – resistance."

"To the back it is, then."

* * *

I would like to say a big, fat thankyou to Merry0742000, sammie77, allaboutthegate, SG1-Fanfic, sg1 huge fan, Nelarun, nogigglingmajor, becky207, 7 League Boots, scottiedog, The Last and Tashira Ronin for taking your time to review. I apreciate it big time. Next chapter coming soon, I hope. Thanks. 


	8. Going Home

Chapter 8

Jack stood over a couple of men that now lay motionless on the floor. Maybourne then came around the corner, signaling to Jack with his hands that the immediate vicinity was clear. They moved strategically forward, guns pointed towards the empty space ahead of them.

"This is fun," commented Maybourne quietly and for no apparent reason. Jack made a spasmodic gesture like cutting his own throat to indicate that he was going to give them away if he didn't shut his hole. "Oh, come on!" said Maybourne, uncharacteristically picking a vase off a nearby table and began pressing each of its little patterns intricately painted onto it. "You don't think they don't know we're here? These people don't make mistakes. Let's just leave and let Sam go!" Jack opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Maybourne raising a small, device covered in a whole heap of metal that he had mickeyed out of the vase design. Jack instantly recognized it, and played along.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Let's go." With that, Maybourne dropped the device to the floor and, reminding Jack of an oversized chicken, began to stamp on it several times. When he was satisfied that it was destroyed, he picked it up once more and examined it.

"Listening devices," said Maybourne, his voice lowered past the point of a whisper and almost inaudible. "I'll bet this place is riddled with them. Hopefully, the guy monitoring the listening device thinks we're leaving and won't report what he hears."

"What about the guys lookin' after the video cameras?" asked Jack.

"Just keep your voice low, your head down, and your gun at the ready," advised his partner. The advice was taken without complaint.

Their search continued, still turning up nothing. Jack's high hopes came crashing down to Earth. They had gone through the place twice and there was no sign of Sam, or anybody else for that matter. He slumped into a chair, his knees weak. They had come all the way to this place to find nothing and go home without a life being saved. Anger caused him to clasp the arms of the chair to the extent that his knuckles were white. In frustration, he grabbed a nearby lamp and slogged it across the room. Maybourne ducked as to avoid being hit. The porcelain object shattered into a million pieces on the far wall. Jack frowned. Had the sound it made been hollow? He was sure that it had been. He grabbed a metal box and emptied a whole manner of crap out of it before hurling it too at the wall.

There was a 'clunk'. Maybourne had heard it that time as well. He sought a secret trigger in bookshelf close to the wall. After pulling a book entitled something along the lines of "Code-Breaking For The Inexperienced", there was a loud crunching sound of gears turning and soon after that, a door was revealed.

"Holy sht!" commented Maybourne. He studied the door: there were several large locks including a device that required a code number and a combination lock. "Listen, Jack, I can hack into a whole heap of things, but this is state of the art. There's no way that I can get past this."

Jack sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Well, I can give it a go, but I can't guarantee you anything." Maybourne began pressing buttons on the code pad. His thumb hovered over the enter key. "You know, Jack, that if this doesn't work, security will be here in about a minute."

"I know that. Try anyway." There was a beeping noise. Jack almost dared to hope that it had worked. No such luck.

The beeping got louder, and louder, and louder.

"It didn't work," announced Maybourne.

"Yeah, I figured that." Jack scanned the room for anything that could be used as a password for this lock. He looked at the clock to see how long they had until they were arrested. Then, something caught his eye. There were four digits on the clock. Four numbers.

"Try 8532!" yelled Jack. He could hear people approaching. His partner punched in the numbers as ordered and set to work on the combination lock.

* * *

Jack's POV 

Well, I we were stuffed. They'd caught us. I had forgotten about the other lock.

"OK, that'll be enough, thank you fellows," said a person from behind me. I felt something cold and hard being driven into my back. I didn't need to ask what it is. I glance at Maybourne. He, two, has someone behind him with a gun pointed at him.

"Hands where we can see them," demanded the person behind me. I obeyed, but taking my own sweet time. Another man dealt with all the locks and opened the door to reveal a dark hallway. Me and Maybourne pushed inside, into yet another room even darker and danker than the corridor. I heard two locks being locked and something buzzing. I presumed that was more security.

It was pretty dark in that room, and I had to strain my eyes to see anything at all. I walked around blindly, searching for a wall or an object or something. My foot brushed something. I kicked what ever it was a bit harder.

"I don't want to go to school," said a female voice groggily. I heard her moving. "Who are you and what do you want?"

It took me a while to actually register who was talking to me. "Carter?"

"Sir?" My heart skipped a beat. I got down on my knees, groping until I found on of her hands and holding it in my own. "I'm here Sam." She sounded so scared.

"Are you reallyyouthis time?"

I had to laugh. "Yeah, I'm real. Not a hallucination."

"Are you sure, sir?" She sounded really confused. "Youpeople always say that."

"I'm not a vision." I pressed the matter in a voice that bordered on desperate. I could feel the life ebbing from her like light from a dying light bulb. She was in bad shape. If I didn't get her out of there soon…

"I'm so tired," she complained. "Wanna sleep."

"Not yet. C'mon Sam, keep talking." I knew if she slept she would die. I saw enough people die like this when I was a PoW in Iraq. I sought a topic of discussion frantically. "Uh, what are you working on at the SGC?" I waited a few painstaking seconds for her to reply. For a moment I was afraid she'd gone.

"I'm writing a book on wormhole physics," she said, words becoming slightly slurred and she was barely audible.

"Really?" I never thought I would the question that I was about to. "And what is a wormhole?"

I heard her giggle. "Are you sure you want to know, sir?"

"Um…No, not really, but tell me anyway." I had to bend even closer to hear her.

"A wormhole is a, um, a spatial shortcut that people who explore the galaxy, like us, might use to bypass the speed-of-light barrier and travel instantaneously to travel from one planet to another, within out universe," she said. Crap, I had trouble getting my head around that when I'm perfectly fine; I don't know how she can do it when she's dying.

Dying. I shouldn't have used that word. I felt a shiver go up my spine. Sam was dying, and there was nothing I could do to prevent that. At least, not in that place. But I also knew that escape was nearly impossible unless it was carefully orchestrated. Sam attempted to sit up, and in doing so her hand came to rest on my knee. That decided me. We had to get her out, and failure was not an option.

I heard footsteps approaching, locks unlocking and devices buzzing.

"Jack," said Harry. "If we're going to save her and escape, this is our last chance. You know that, don't you?"

I swallowed hard, choking back tears. I didn't trust myself to say anything for a moment.

"Hang on, Sam," I told her. "We're gonna get you outta here soon."

"Yes sir."

I stood up and braced myself. The moment the door opened and the bastards responsible for this whole situation were greeted first with Maybourne's punches and kicks. He broke one guy's nose and punched the other in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Then, in the same move, he spun and kicked him in the head. I tackled the third man, punching him three times in the face, just to be sure that he was out cold.

There was one last person. Just by looking at him, I could tell he was X. Anger raged in my veins. I began to stalk up to him, eager to get a punch or two through. He began to back off a little. I, for one, was surprised. I would have given him a piece of my mind, but Harry called out to me.

"No, Jack, you get Carter, I'll deal with this guy."

I felt kind of ashamed. I had to admit that for a minute there, my anger had blocked out all thoughts of Sam. I rushed back inside the cell, being careful to leave the door wide open so there would be no chance of us getting locked in again.

I gingerly scooped Sam up into my arms. This would have been nice under other circumstances. I didn't want to cause her any more pain.

"C'mon," I said to her. "We're going home."

* * *

The end? I think not. 


	9. He is me

Chapter 9

We headed toward an exit, me a little slower than Maybourne, mainly because I was carrying Sam. She fought to stay conscious with every ounce of her remaining strength.

"Just a little longer," I told her. "We're almost there."

Sam moved a little, staring up at me with glassy eyes. "We can't leave yet."

I stopped in my tracks, taken aback by what she had said. "Yes, we can," I said.

She shook her head. "No. There's a bomb."

The words rung in my head for a minute before the words took effect. I set off again, as fast as I possibly could. I swore to myself. "Maybourne!" I yelled to the guy ahead of me. "There's a bomb! We gotta go! Get out and call SGC!" He started at a run as well. "A bomb is a good reason to _leave_," I said more softly to Sam between labored breaths.

"You don't understand."

"I understand there's a bomb that's going to blow up in our face if we don't get out of here(!)"

"We've gotta go back and defuse it." She knew I wouldn't let her, so she stumbled out of my arms. My reflexes, not being what they were years ago, weren't fast enough to catch her. Sam hit the ground with such force that there was an audible smack of flesh on tiles and a crack that I hoped wasn't any bones breaking. I knelt down beside her. I had to admire her determination. She tried to continue on all fours.

"We've gotta get the device," she mumbled repeatedly. Her strength failed her.

I couldn't wait any longer. If there was a bomb about to go off, this was not the time to admire willpower. "Sam, we can't stay."Maybourne was long out of the building.

"Major Carter is right: you have to defuse the bomb."

I turned when I heard a familiar voice behind me. My eyes widened at what I saw. No, it couldn't be possibly. Another Sam Carter? Then I remembered. "You're a clone," I said simply.

"Not me," said the clone. "Us." I heard footsteps coming. I raised my gun, not afraid to shoot whoever was coming. But the gun wavered in my hand as I saw the faces of the people surrounding us. Every single one of them was Carter. I held the hand of the Sam lying on the floor just to be sure that she was still there. I didn't want to ever let go. Never.

Clone Carter 1 had seen me grip her hand. "It's OK; we're not going to clone you too." Damn. Did these people read minds? "We need to tell you something if you're going to find the bomb."

I was confused. Didn't these people want to see us die? I mean, they had tried to replace Sam at the SGC, for crying out loud! This was too weird.

"I assume if you're hear, our sister was successful in informing you of our whereabouts," she said matter-of-factly.

"What, you mean the other Carter that went to infiltrate the SGC?"

I saw the clones eyes widen. She knew something was wrong. "No, she came only to tell you where our mother was and to come as quickly as possible, on our behalf."

"OK, firstly, she's dead. The noise of the alarm got too much for her and apparently it destroyed her brain." There was a murmur among the clones. If I didn't know these heartless things better, I would have said they were sad. "Secondly, mother?"

"She is the one that gave us life. She is our mother."

I was still confused. They obviously noticed: I wondered if Sam's ability to know if I'm confused was carried over to her clones. "I guess we'll have to start from the beginning," said a second Clone Carter. Clone Carter 1 nodded her agreement.

"Samantha Carter is here subject to cloning tests by the one you know as X because he wanted an army. He wanted an army that would serve him only, and could easily infiltrate to do what we are trained to; a program called E.I.A – enter infiltrate, assassinate. Our first task was to kill her-" she pointed at Sam. "- and then to infiltrate the SGC and kill General Hammond. But we can murder neither our mother nor her friends. She has loyalty and a will to do what is right in her very DNA. We are loyal to her and her friends and only wish to do what is right.

"Our bodies are not yet perfect, as you have noticed. Our ears are far too sensitive. Too much noise channeled directly into our brain through the ear canal will, kill us. The device that makes cloning possible had not enough power to make us flawless. But it will."

"What does that mean?" I queried.

"It won't be destroyed in the explosion," said the original Sam weakly. "It'll only absorb the energy. The trinium-titanium alloy is too strong."

"She's right," said Carter Clone 2. "If this bomb goes off, he can collect the device later, and begin his work somewhere new. If that happens, he will be able to fix the branch of DNA that prevents us from turning against him _and_ the flaw in our bodies."

I knew then that I either had to get the device or defuse the bomb, and quickly. Not for the sake of the clones, but for their 'mother'. I could barely hear her breathing.

"Where's the bomb?" I asked.

The clones looked at each other. "We don't know. We were kinda hoping that you would help us find it." My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"You don't know?" I demanded. "Why the hell am I standing here listening to this?"

"To stop the Stargate program and the entire world being overridden by clones."

With that, I couldn't really argue. "Do you have any ideas where it might be?"

"It's in this room," said Sam. I looked to the clones for confirmation. They shrugged.

"Where?"

"In the clock." In a clock? I had never come across somebody putting a bomb in a clock. I looked at a nearby digital one, its fluorescent numbers on a flat, black face. There seemed to be nothing extraordinary about this clock, except it was a bit slow. For a moment, I wondered if Sam was just delusional. I looked at my watch, then looked back at the clock to compare time. I froze. I could have been sure that a minute ago it had read 1300, now it only read 1247. I held my gaze. It was counting down.

I picked up Sam and hurried over to the device. I was about to inspect it, when something hit me in the face. I was thrown back, Sam landing on top of me. Confused, I got up only to be hooked around the ankles and fall over again. This was not good. I looked behind me for the clones, but they had disappeared. I quickly turned back to my attacker. My eyes widened.

"Oh my God."

It was me.

* * *

Another chapter coming soon. Sorry this one was so shi- ahem, bad.


	10. Home at Last

Chapter 10

The clone of me sneered. "Yeah," he said. "I'm you. You didn't think that Carter here resisted torture completely, did you?" He knelt down beside her and put on a fake, simpering face. I, too stunned to do anything, just stared as he grasped her face and turned her unconscious features to look at him. He leaned closer.

"Thank you, sweetheart," said the clone, stroking her hair. He smiled. He turned to me. "She was quite forthcoming before she needed, ah, convincing, though she got a bit suspicious after a while. It seemed I was asking things I should have already known."

The shock got past my thick skull. "You son of a bitch!" I yelled, and tackled him. He threw me off easily. I got up again, my knees and back smarting. I tried to punch the clone, but his defenses were too strong.

_I guess we're not that similar after all_, I thought to myself as I tried and failed to hook him around the ankles as he had done me. _He's defending himself, rather than trying to attack me. If I learned anything in the air force combat training, it was that blocking got you nowhere, just wore your enemy down. Attack and have done with it!_ I figured that all I had to do was to keep attacking consistently until he became weary and I broke through his defenses.

I should never have thought.

The clone hit me right on the temple and I sunk like a brick into darkness.

* * *

Sam's POV

I saw one of them go down. I don't know which one. But one of them stood over the other for long minutes, as if devouring glory of his victory. I looked around, hoping desperately that there was some way to determine who the clone was. Colonel O'Neill had said that they couldn't stand too much noise. A watch alarm? A gun? I continued my search. A red box caught my eye. A fire alarm! Quietly and slowly, I mustered the strength to drag myself along the floor to it. I looked behind me for a moment and my heart jumped. Whoever had won the fight was staring at me. I couldn't see his eyes properly; my eyesight was still not what it had been before the torture. Well, whoever the hell he was, he was coming toward me. I tried to move faster, diverting my attention back to the task at hand. It was getting closer, painstakingly slowly. I could hear footsteps approaching. I had reached the fire alarm…

He stood me on my feet.

"It's OK," he said. I think he thought because I wasn't thinking straight, I was an idiot. He should have known I wouldn't trust him until I had proof, especially under the circumstances. "Let's get out of here before that bomb goes off." I would like to think I could have trusted those words, but I didn't. I hit the alarm. The irritating sound rung through the place. I could visibly see the Clone O'Neill's face contorting with the effort of not showing how much pain he was in. But soon, it got too much. He got down on his knees, shoving his head into a cushion on a chair. He struggled. For a moment, I wondered if I had done the right thing. All of a sudden, he went still. He fell to the floor, no longer withering in agony. With great effort and the remaining strength in me, I went over to him, checking his pulse. Satisfied that there was none, I weakly went over to the other and checked his. As I did so, he stirred. I reckon he'd have a nasty bruise on his head in the morning.

"Sir?" I tapped his face, trying to bring him into consciousness faster. "Sir, can you hear me?"

"Ah! Head…" His hand flew to his head, and in the process, knocked me in the noggin. "Oh, st, sorry Sam." He apologized quickly, and I had to laugh. The smile soon was wiped off my face though. My adrenalin was fast running out. The pain in my own head was throbbing back, and my eyelids became droopy once more. I knew where the device was, and I tried to tell him, but the words wouldn't form on my tongue. For some reason, I felt safe, even though I was in a building that was about to be blown to hell. I think it was the thought that we didn't actually _need_ to disarm the device any more. After all, the person who was going to use it was dead. My clones had disappeared, like they had just dropped off the face of the Earth.

Death didn't seem so bad. I mean, I was with – I may as well have admitted it to myself – the man I loved… I didn't want him to die with me, but I didn't think he was moving. Then again, I could hardly feel myself breathing, so that wasn't saying much. I lay down on the cold tiles and sought Colonel O'Neill's – _Jack's_ – hand. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Jack's POV

I could feel her hand on mine. Head throbbing, I sat up. She was lying on the floor beside me, asleep. My heart jumped. I placed my hand centimeters from her mouth, trying to feel her breathing. She was: barely. I got up, picked her up and ran.

Maybourne was outside. He had just put away his phone presumably from telling the SGC about the situation.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at him, and he got the message. We all jumped in his truck and he hit the gas. Thirty seconds later, it blew. The blast wave propelled us forward. Windows shattered: I ducked and covered Sam's eyes from the glass, Maybourne doing the same for himself. Then, all of a sudden, it was all over. Maybourne slammed on the breaks to stop us from running into a tree. I must admit, it worked for the most part. We didn't hit as hard as we would of. Even still, as we climbed out of the truck, we both knew we weren't going anywhere.

The building was a fiery mess. There was shrapnel in the once green gardens and the grass was brown and smoldering in places. Moments after that, about a dozen black SGC SUV's and an ambulance came speeding onto the scene, looking too much out of a sci-fi television program. A worried Janet, General Hammond, Daniel, Teal'c and, most of all; Jacob Carter came running over to me.

"Where's Sam?" demanded the retired General. Too tired and shocked to say anything, I pointed. He pulled his unconscious daughter over to him.

"She's not breathing!" he yelled desperately. Janet rushed over.

"Get a stretcher!" the doctor ordered, immediately turning back to her friend. "Sam? Sam, can you hear me?" No response. Two EMT's (Emergency Medical Technicians) returned momentarily; between the three of them lifted Sam onto the platform. Jacob kissed her lightly on the head and squeezed her hand before she was lifted into the ambulance. Jacob stood and watched as they drove off, the last thing he heard was a whole manner of obligatory medical mumbo jumbo coming out of Janet's mouth. A tear dripped down his pale face: he knew it could be the last time he saw her. I looked for something to say in comfort, but everything caught in my throat.

* * *

Back at the SGC

Janet entered the infirmary wearing a while robe. I braced myself for the worst; I felt Jacob, Teal'c and Daniel tense beside me also. "She's going to be OK." Jacob looked at her as if to find some joke or something. Then, his eyes lit up like lights. I swear, he could have hugged her. Instead, a huge smile spread across his face.

"Can we see her?" asked Daniel.

"Sure," replied Janet. "She's a bit delirious: I had to give her a pretty strong painkiller after the surgery. You might wanna go two at a time, to give her a chance to process things."

Jacob walked in immediately. I followed.  
"Thank you, Jack," said the retired General suddenly. He looked at me, but I couldn't meet his eyes. Why was he thanking me? I had let her die once, for God's sake! Jacob proceeded to go to her bedside, taking her hand in his own.

"Hi, kiddo," he said.

"Hi dad," Sam replied groggily. "Hi, sir."

"Hi, Carter." I didn't know what to say. I felt like I was interrupting in a family thing. Jacob frowned at me, mouthing 'her name is Sam'.

"How are you feeling?" asked Jacob.

"Like somebody kicked my in the ribs," she said. She seemed deep in thought for a moment. "You know what, sir?"

I shook my head. "No."

"I think I'm drowning in tulips."

Taken slightly aback by this, I turned to Jacob for some clarity. He shrugged. "You like tulips, Sam?" I asked.

"Mmm," was her only reply before she went to sleep, the beeping of the heart monitor lulling her into slumber.

I smiled. She was home at last.

* * *

I sensed everything was going to be better after that, after I cleared up what had happened. We ended up finding the device in the rubble, although no one could figure out how it worked. Well, until Sam looked at it at any rate.

* * *

The day after she came out from hospital

I knocked on Sam's door, holding something behind my back. Me and Daniel and Teal'c had invited ourselves over for dinner and I was first to arrive, as I had hoped. She answered the door, dressed in a casually in a skirt and loose fitting t-shirt.

"Hi Sam," I said. I revealed what I was hiding. A big bunch of tulips.

She smiled. "Thank you, Jack," and invited me in.

* * *

Thankyou to all my reviewers. Hold on, I'll see if I can name them all... Thanks Merry0742000, mishy-mo, AT fan, allaboutthegate, nogigglingmajor, Special Agent Black Storm, gater62, sammie77, Natters, sg1 huge fan, becky207, SG1 Fanfic, Nelarun, 7 League Boots, scottiedog, The Last and Tashira Ronin. I really appreciate your time. ;-) Til the next fanfic I write... 


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